Ripple
by Clouds on Monday
Summary: The little island of Sundance has been terrorised by a raging monster. It could burn down a village in one night, and it can leave huge craters with one furious eruption of fire. But no one has ever seen it; not until a boy named Brendan stumbled upon it.
1. Chapter 1

**Ripple**

Full Summary: The little island of Sundance has been terrorised by a raging monster. It could burn down a village in a single night, and just one eruption of its furious flames can create a huge crater in the ground. But no one has ever seen this mysterious beast, not until a young man called Brendan stumbled upon its wrath.

**Chapter 1**

Sundance is a small volcanic island south of Kanto and Johto. Half the size of Hoenn, and near the equator, Sundance is blessed with plenty of sunshine. However, the island can only be so tolerable, as droughts are very common. It hardly rains, except for the month long typhoon season that occurs every summer, causing the island to be swamped with muddy floods, raging winds and stormy seas.

The residents of the island learn to be resilient towards the harsh weather system, and their hardy nature helped them cope with living in the complicated island. But it wasn't the typhoons or the droughts that made the island difficult.

It was the raging monster that resided in the mainland.

Crowe Copper, a seventeen year old boy from the small town of Breece, wasn't one to be content with over exerting himself. He sat on the beach, in an area known as south Palmside, and stared out to sea lazily with half lidded amber eyes. The sun shone on his bare chest, making the beads of moisture on his tan skin sparkle. Sighing, he ran his hand through his messy black hair, smoothing it down in an attempt to tame it before flicking off the sweat from his brow.

The waves crept up the shore, first tickling at his toes before suddenly rising up to soak his board shorts, and then hastily retreated back to the ocean, leaving only a white froth on the wet sand. Crowe smirked to himself, welcoming another wash of rushing seawater, enjoying the tickling sensation as the grains of sand were washed off his legs.

"There you are!"

Crowe suddenly closed his eyes, sucking in his lower lip as his brows furrowed together. He felt someone sit next to him, nudging him slightly with an elbow as this person huffed. He opened his eyes, looking over to his left as he stared at a girl sceptically. Her frost blue eyes bore into amber, her pink lips set in a thin line. She held a mischievious demeanour, and she looked mature by at least three or four years than her actual age of sixteen.

"What do you want, Jay?" Crowe mumbled as he faced the sea, watching a couple of Wingulls dodging the spraying waves. The girl, Jay Harrow, tucked a strand of her long sun bleached hair behind her ear. "You stalking me again?"

Jay scowled at the boy, tucking her long legs to her chest, digging her toes in the sand. "No," she seethed, trying hard not to shout. "I've just come to see you."

Crowe stood up, brushing sand off his knees and thighs before staring down at the girl. Jay looked up at Crowe expectantly, her attention entirely focused on the boy.

"See me?" he asked. "What about?"

"I dunno," Jay sighed, staring at the ocean as a wave welcomed her to the beach, wetting her tan brown skin and dampening her blue denim shorts. "Just wanna talk, yeah."

Crowe didn't reply. Instead he grabbed at his necklace, pulling off one of the three spherical pendants from the chain, and he looked at it lovingly. It was an ultra ball, the shiny surface reflecting the sun's rays, and Crowe stared at it with soft eyes. He pressed the button, enlarging the ball and then threw it into the air. A white flash escaped from the ball, zigzagging in the air before collecting itself on the sand, forming a glowing white shape. The light faded, and the blue ball on the ground uncurled itself, revealing a Vaporeon. It yawned sleepily, rubbing an eye with a paw as it tried to wipe away the sleep.

"Hey, Cobalt," Crowe cooed as he scratched the rubbery skin under the water dog's chin. "Wakey wakey, Coby, we have some training to do."

Coby the vaporeon, however, snuffled his head away, making it clear to his trainer that he was not happy from being awaken from its nap. Jay laughed, clutching at one of her own Pokéball pendants. Crowe removed his other Pokéball pendant and released it, a small green Larvitar jumping up and down in joy as it became excited.

"I guess it's me and you again, Emmy." Crowe laughed as he patted the small Pokémon on the head. "Wanna practice your sand attack on Coby?"

Coby's head suddenly perked up, his eyes wide on Emmy. The female Larvitar squeaked in delight while Jay and Crowe laughed among themselves.

"You have good Pokémon," Jay smiled, fiddling with one of her Tankini shoulder straps. "But why won't you catch anymore? I already own around sixty, but you only have Shia, Cobalt and Emerald. You won't go very far in a Pokémon league if you only own a Pidgeot, a Vaporeon and a Larvitar."

The young man crossed his arms, watching Emmy toddle as she chased a groggy Coby across the sand. "Yeah, well…" Crowe didn't bother with giving Jay a proper reply. The two were left in silence, wordlessly observing Emmy as she pounced on Coby's tail, squeaking happily. "I'm not interested in the Pokémon league."

Jay gave him an odd sideways glance, as if she heard something vulgar. "You what?" she scoffed. The boy next to her shrugged, running his hand through his hair again. "The Pokémon league is every trainer's dream. You are good at what you do, and everyone says that you have great potential. You have a talent for it. Why… why waste that?"

Crowe didn't answer. Instead, he picked up Emmy, much to Coby's relief, and stroked the top of her head. She cooed happily, squeaking as she snuggled closer to Crowe's chest. He sighed, his amber eyes softening as he watched Emmy yawn, the larvitar curling up into a sleeping position. Coby made a small noise before sauntering into the sea, the saline waters pleasant to the vaporeon's skin. The two teens were silent once again as they stared out to the ocean.

"You miss him, don't you?" Jay sighed as she watched Coby's mermaid tail splash up some water. Crowe could only nod. "How often do you think of him?"

"Every day," Crowe replied, stroking the larvitar he cradled. "I'm always wondering what he would do or how he would react with Cobalt and Emerald if he were still here. Would he look out and take care of them like he took care of me?"

"Hm…" Jay looked up at him softly, taking in every word as she listened. "I'm sure he is still looking after us now. He was great."

Crowe smiled at Jay's kind words.

"Yeah," he chuckled. "Bubs the mudkip… he was fantastic."

Crowe's Pokénav was beeping and vibrating, causing Emmy to jolt awake in surprise. Jay's Pokénav also beeped an alert, and they both looked at their messages. Crowe's eyes hardened as he read the alert, scanning over the text angrily.

"There's another attack!" he growled.

Jay heard him mutter a curse under his breath as he suddenly ran off the beach. He yelled over his shoulder for Coby, who quickly sprinted up to the teen at they made their way to the mainland.

Jay followed, taking off her Pokéball pendant and releasing her Pokémon, a large swellow soaring out and flying beside her. She jumped onto it, and they both soared into the air. Ahead of them was a large billowing swell of smoke, black and dusty and dirtying the air. It was quite a distance away, about five minutes in flight, but they could still smell the stench of burning material.

At the source of the smoke was frenzy of fire, the swirling blaze wreaking havoc in one of the small towns of the island. She could see the flashing lights from numerous emergency vehicles, their sirens echoing over the panicked screaming and crying of the citizens.

"Oh jeez…" she swore as she glared at the burning town.

The cry of a pidgeot resounded to her side, and Jay could see Crowe riding his pidgeot, with Coby also comfortably seated upon the birds back. The pidgeot cried out again before darting ahead, into the huge column of dusty black air.

Brendan Kurtis, eighteen years old and teen Pokémon star, never was the sort of person to settle down. Ever since he defeated Steven Stone in the Hoenn championship league, Brendan's name had spread far and fast. He never complained with the fame, in fact he loved the attention and the recognition of his trainer abilities. The modest May Birch always scolded him for having a large ego though, and she often kept him in his place whenever his head over inflates.

"Aw, c'mon May!" Brendan chuckled, readjusting his headband against his snowy hair. May only glared back at him. "Jeez, it's not my fault that I have so many fans these days. I might as well get used to it, I mean, I've been training extra hard to compete in the battle frontier this year. Imagine the extra fans when I win this one!"

"Brendan, you're doing it again." May grumbled, her chestnut brown hair bobbing up and down as they walked back to her father's lab. "Shut up."

"Doing what again?" he said nonchalantly as he smiled at a passing girl, who giggled and blushed as she walked past. He chuckled to himself, smirking as he ruffled up his snowy hair with a gloved hand, completely oblivious to a fuming May stomping next to him.

"You're getting cocky again!" she snapped. Her anger rose when Brendan rolled his hazel eyes. May huffed, slapping him lightly on his arm. "For goodness sake, Brendan! Why are you so… so bigheaded and… and- Argh!"

May stomped ahead of him, growling a long string of curses about her travel companion, not caring if he heard any of it. She leered over her shoulder to give Brendan a hard glare. Her usually cool blue eyes suddenly alit with ultra violet fire. The smirk on Brendan's face suddenly dropped, and he slightly frowned as he watched May's form disappear into a lab building.

"Jeez," he hissed under his breath. "I've been travelling with that girl for far too long."

He stepped into the building, whistling to himself like nothing had ever happened and grinned at a familiar face inside.

"Why, if it isn't Brendan," greeted professor Birch, his brown hair sticking to the sweat on his forehead. "It has been a while since I last saw you face to face. I've only been catching glimpses of you on television every now and then. You make me proud."

Brendan laughed at the compliment, eagerly shaking the professor's hand before giving his assistant one of Brendan's winning smiles. "Thanks, professor," the teen grinned, sticking his hands into his pockets. "So, what's up? When you called me and May you sounded pretty urgent."

"Ah, about that," the professor ran his hands across his lab coat, smoothing over any creases, and to dry off his sweaty hands. "I have received a call from one of my colleagues in Sundance, and I've been told that the island has been going through a very unfortunate and difficult time."

Brendan crossed his arms, listening to professor Birch as the man paced around his lab.

"Do you remember your encounter with the legendary Pokémon, Groudon?" the professor asked, his lips stretched into a thin and serious line. Brendan nodded. "Well, the island has been terrorised by a powerful fire Pokémon, and they are in desperate need of a trainer to solve this problem. With your experiences with Groudon, and with your status as the Hoenn Pokémon champion, I suppose that you are the perfect candidate to help solve their problems."

The young man smirked at him, his arrogant smile radiating his confidence. "A powerful fire Pokémon, huh?" Brendan mulled over the concept. "Do you know what that Pokémon is?"

"No." Professor Birch shook his head as he said this. "Nobody has ever seen it. But we suspect that it could quite possibly be an undiscovered species, of perhaps, a legendary Pokémon."

There was a heavy silence in the lab, bar the humming of the machinery the professor used for his research. Brendan crossed his arms as he thought over what was being offered. Another adventure? The concept is incredibly tempting to take up.

The teen gave in, accepting the mission, or challenge as Brendan liked to put it, and offered his hand once again to shake with professor Birch.

"Sure," Brendan announced, his hazel eyes ablaze with newfound determination. "Should be a piece of cake."

Professor Birch gave Brendan a serious stare as the man stood up straighter. "Brendan," he sighed, his voice soft yet it still carried an urgent tone. "I want you to be careful. Don't get over confident. Don't be rash. I am giving you an extremely dangerous task."

The teen raised a brow, and he shifted slightly to match professor Birch's stature. "How dangerous?" Brendan asked, his voice slightly unsteady.

The professor placed his hands on Brendan's shoulders, squeezing them as he crouched lower so they could be at eye level. "What I mean is," the man paused, thinking over what to say. "People have been killed. One of the island's best Pokémon trainers is unavailable. You will be there to fill his shoes."

"Unavailable?" Brendan wasn't sure if he should take up this mission. Reason told him not to, but his drive of adventure urged him on. "What happened to him?"

Professor Birch sighed, releasing Brendan's shoulders. "He's currently comatose." He replied, his expression grave. "But I've been informed that he may never wake up."

Reason screamed at Brendan to tell him not to accept, but there was some sort of sick satisfaction that Brendan took pleasure in when it comes to danger. The young champion smiled, more out of understanding rather than confidence, and shifted his weight so he leaned to the side. "Don't worry," he said, reassuring the professor. "I can handle myself. I promise you that I won't get into too much trouble."

_lol... I'm such a nerd. Tell me what you think :)_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Jay never understood why hospitals were painted in such a bleak shade. The walls, ceiling and floors weren't even white, they were more or less a lighter shade of grey. Well, it seemed grey to her, everything seemed less vibrant than it used to. Even the small bouquet of flowers in her arms has lost its usually bright colours.

"Good morning, how may I help you?" a nurse greeted the dark teen, welcoming her with a warm smile. "Are you here to visit someone?"

Jay sighed. She fiddled with one the flowers nervously, causing one of it yellow petals to drop to the floor. "Yeah," she said, a solemn expression on her face. "I'm here to see Crowe Copper."

xxx

May shook her head, more out of endearment instead of disappointment, as she stared at the crumpled form of Brendan at the bottom of the stairs. His suitcase was on top of him, and Brendan groaned as he pushed the heavy bag off him. His forehead was beginning to redden where he hit it on the floor.

"I told you." May laughed as Brendan glared at the girl. She offered him her hand, which he took to hoist himself up. "I told you that you'd trip if you carried your suitcase by yourself down the stairs."

He made an irritated sighed as he rubbed his head. His skin was a bit painful to touch. If a bruise was beginning to develop then he would surely be ridiculed by his fans. "Jeez," he hissed as he poked it. "I fell hard. Is there bruise coming up? Because if there is, then I swear to God, I-"

"Yeah, yeah," May interrupted his ramblings. He furrowed his brows together as May rubbed at his forehead with a thumb. "Meh, you'll live."

Brendan threw his arms up over dramatically. "Jeez, May, I want to know if I'm getting a bruise," the boy huffed as he gathered his suitcase. "Am I going aubergine or not?"

"No."

"A-are you sure?"

May chose to ignore him. The snowy trainer grumbled as he held his suitcase, and he made a small jump as he hoisted his trainer bag higher up his shoulder. They both left his house, welcoming the sunshine that greeted them outside. Brendan released his tropius, the majestic beast roaring as it basked in the sunshine. He mounted his tropius, wedging his suitcase in between the gap of his chest and the back of the Pokémon's neck.

"Have you got your essential six Pokémon?" May shouted over another of the beast's roars. "Because you can't access the Hoenn pc storage system in foreign areas-"

"I already know that," he replied with a dismissive wave. "I learned that the hard way when I came from Johto, remember?" He smirked at the girl below him, giving her a thumbs up. May looked up at him with a faltering smile, the corners of her lips occasionally twitching. She made a small noise before quickly wiping her face with the back of her hand, an action which Brendan suddenly panicked. "May?" he said, concern in his tone. "May, you okay?"

Brendan patted the tropius on the neck before dismounting. He landed clumsily on the ground, but he managed to recover as he stumbled toward May. The girl sniffed once more before throwing her arms around Brendan's neck, tears pooling down her face and dampening Brendan's collar. He patted her back as he hugged her.

"Oh God," she cursed as she pressed a palm to her head. "I promised myself I wouldn't cry."

May felt Brendan laugh, his low chuckle vibrating into her neck. "Why are you crying?" he let go of her, only resting his hands on her shoulders. "Aw, c'mon May. What's up?"

She laughed as she fully realised the situation. She was May Birch, daughter of a prodigious professor, and she carried the same brilliance as her father. She was level headed, stern and serious, yet here she was, crying because her best friend is leaving for a few days. "Sheesh, Brendan," she giggled as she wiped away the last of her tears. "We've been travelling together for nearly eight years, since we were ten when you first received your mudkip. It'll be the first time we'll be separated with our adventures."

The tropius snorted impatiently behind them. He flapped his leafy wings, sending a current of air towards the two trainers. May and Brendan laughed at the Pokémon, who gave another flap of its wings. The Pokémon made a low rumbling sigh as Brendan mounted the tropius once more, giving a wave and a smile at May.

"Don't worry, May." Brendan yelled over his noisy Pokémon. "I'll be fine. You take care, okay?"

The tropius stomped on the ground before making a huge jump in the air, the giant soaring higher and higher into the sky. May kept waving until he disappeared in the glare of the sun, and she blew a strand of her hair from her face as she looked up into the blue sky.

Something vibrated in her pocket, and it took a while to realise that her Pokénav had received a message. She opened the message, reading it with a smile. "See you in a week," she read it out loud. "Brendan, you sap."

Xxx

The tropius roared as they touched down in Slateport. Brendan returned his Pokémon to its ball, leaving a couple of leaves where it last stood. He could see a ship in the docks, and he made a beeline to the cruiser.

"How may I help you?" asked the receptionist at the docks. Brendan flashed her smile as he handed over his SS ticket, passport and trainer card. She read them with her green eyes, and when she looked up she blushed slightly. "Wow, if it isn't the Pokémon champion, Brendan Kurtis!" she gushed. "Well, we hope your journey will be pleasant. The ship will leave in thirty minutes. Nice meeting you."

He nodded in thanks before boarding the ship. There was a Pokémon play area on deck, so he let his Pokémon out to socialise with the Pokémon of other passengers. Brendan watched on, enjoying the sunshine and the occasional attention of passersby who recognised him. One girl with blonde hair was brave enough to approach him, with a camera in hand and a notebook in the other, a pen tucked behind her ear.

"Oh my gosh, Brendan Kurtis, right?" she gushed, her eyes watering with excitement. Brendan flashed a huge grin, taking the notepad to sign it. "It is you! I can't believe it! Y-you know, you're like, like, my biggest idol! Ever since you became the Hoenn champion, I wanted to be just like you. I've always seen you as such an amazing role model, and… and… and- Oh my God!"

Brendan laughed at her reaction when he took her camera and hugged close to her, taking two photos of them, a smile on Brendan's face, a huge blush across the girl's. He gave back the camera and notebook and then gave a friendly wave goodbye as the girl skipped away, making a happy squeak as she saw Brendan's autograph in her notebook.

"I love being me," he sighed, placing his hands on his hips.

"Wow, you're modest."

Brendan made a startled noise as he turned around, seeing another girl behind him. She had a disapproving look on her face, with one hand on her hip and the other twirling a strand of her sun bleached hair. She also wore a rather thick puff coat, her hands tucked into her sleeves. Brendan looked at her apprehensively.

"Aren't you hot in that?" he blurted, pointing at her coat.

"Are you kidding me?" she replied. "It's freezing!"

Brendan laughed. "Jeez, you're like an old lady with cold bones."

"Old?" she scoffed. "Says the guy with white hair."

Suddenly self conscious, Brendan started to fix his green headband. "W-what is your problem, girl?"

Her blue eyes narrowed. "You." She said simply. "My name is Jay."

"Brendan," he said curtly. "So, uh, Jay, why do you have a problem with me?"

She sniffed, shifting underneath her puff coat. "I need a skilled trainer," she scowled. "Not some big headed idiot."

He pointed a finger at her, a scowl on his face. "That was uncalled for," he snapped, his brows furrowed together in anger. "So, I guess you're the one who called professor Birch for help. Well, here I am. Whether you like it or not, I'm the one you're after."

She looked him up and down with patronising eyes before crossing her arms, shifting her weight to her side as if she saw something disappointing. Jay sighed before turning away from him, going into the Pokémon play area to release her own Pokémon. A large swellow and a vileplume socialised with others, playing with one another with joy.

Brendan made a low whistle as he stared at the swellow. "Jeez," he sighed. "That swellow is huge. What kinda Pokéblocks are you using? Ones infused with a steroids berry or something?"

Jay laughed at this. "No," she tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ear. "I received him as an egg. The egg was huge, so I was expecting something like a rhydon. But when he hatched he turned out to be a huge taillow."

Brendan raised a brow when the swellow landed on his swampert's head. The blue Pokémon grunted in surprise before shooing the bird away, but the swellow was persistent. Brendan's swampert eventually gave up and let the swellow roost there, soon after not minding the bird at all.

"Anyway," he sighed. "What is the exact situation in Sundance? I know that there is probably a legendary Pokémon destroying the towns-"

"There is no legendary Pokémon." Jay interrupted him, flicking her hair out of the way. "The island of Sundance has only been around for about two hundred years. It's volcanic, brand new. There would be no way that legendary Pokémon would exist on that island."

"Pssh," he muttered as he folded his arms. "So?"

Jay's brows furrowed together as she gave Brendan a cold, hard stare. The wind was picking up as the ship set out to sea, making Jay's hair blow about wildly. It gave her a menacing and dramatic look.

"So?" she hissed. "What do you mean by 'so'? Do you think this is a game?"

Brendan threw his hands up in defence, and annoyed expression upon his face. He took a step towards her in an effort to intimidate her, but she seemed quite unaffected from this action. "Look," he snapped. "I'm not trying to be your enemy here. So just tell me the details of the situation instead of throwing a god damn hissy fit."

That seemed to silence her, as Jay shut her mouth and kept it closed. But Brendan could also see that her jaw was tensely clenched, and her hands were balled into fists, ready to strike if she was pushed far enough.

Brendan sighed and took a step back, creating space between them, and hoping that the tension would end. It appeared to work as her jaw relaxed and she tucked her hands back into her sleeves. They both turned away from each other, watching their Pokémon instead as they drew out a long and exasperated sigh.

"The trainer you are replacing is called Crowe Copper," she began, her tone much calmer and kinder than before. "He is a very close friend of mine, but as you have heard he is unconscious. Crowe and I are looking for the Pokémon that is causing chaos. But since he is unavailable, it'll be you and me that'll be doing the job instead."

Brendan scratched the back of his head, ruffling his white hair. "Can I ask why he is unconscious?" Brendan asked, curiosity taking over.

"A number of things," she sighed. "He ran off into a building. He said that he saw the Pokémon inside, but the building collapsed and he was trapped. He got hit in the head really badly, got a few broken bones, some deep cuts, severe blood loss…" she paused, as if contemplating whether or not she should carry on. She chose the latter. "He also has a broken spine. He'll never walk again. If he wakes up, that is."

A heavy silence hung in the air. Brendan turned away, mulling over the words, digesting it like it was distasteful. He couldn't help but grimace at the condition her partner is experiencing. Brendan was shocked, and scared. What kind of position was he getting himself into? For all he knew, Brendan could be in the same situation as Crowe if he wasn't careful.

"You seem pretty calm about this," he commented. "If that happened to my partner, May, then I would be a blubbering wreck recalling all of that."

Jay took in a deep breath before exhaling slowly, closing her eyes as the saline scent of the sea tickled her nose. "I can't afford to be sensitive," she replied. "You should know by now that giving in to your emotions in times of need would only get you into trouble. If you're scared, you run away. If you're angry, you risk hurting yourself and others. If you're upset, you give up."

Jay suddenly looked at Brendan, glaring. "And the same applies to cockiness." She added. "If you're cocky, then your overconfidence will be your downfall."

He snorted at the comment, not caring if it was an insult.

"Well, overconfidence has gotten me this far," he chuckled. "Why stop now?"

Jay shook her head. A frown was upon her hard features. "Well," she huffed. "Don't say that I didn't warn you."

xxx

_OMG YOM this chapter is boring... :/_

_Anyone else experiencing a problem with the three dash dividers? - - -? That's why I'm using xxx instead... sigh..._

_Reviews appreciated muchly :)_


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